


The World Needs You

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Not Canon Compliant, Spies & Secret Agents, emochenle, friendship!, inspired by james bond!!, jaemin is kind of an ass, spy AU, taeyong is a sweetheart, watch me delete this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:35:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23371786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Being seventeen and a secret agent, Chenle has every right to hate his life.
Relationships: Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 9
Kudos: 15





	The World Needs You

“You’re doing great, Chen- Agent Zhong,” the earpiece in Chenle’s ear buzzed. He gritted his teeth in mild annoyance and blindly threw himself at another vine. What was so great about this?

The currents below his feet rumbled past like horses, water occasionally splashing up his leg and waterlogging his boots. It was lukewarm and stank of Jaemin’s socks. Chenle peered through his goggles, searching the infinite river for a place to rest, but everything was masked in the thick, mustard fog; Chenle could not even see past his own foot. 

He hung on for a few seconds, catching his breath and licking his cracked lips. After he tossed his sweaty bangs out of the way, he swung his legs back and forth, trying to build enough momentum. With a snap, he lurched forward and flew through the air, arms reached in front in anticipation. The next vine brushed against his fingertips. Chenle’s stomach lurched. Before he plummeted to his death, he swung his left hand up and grabbed the end of the vine, the sticking technology on his gloves activating with a beep. 

_ Thank God,  _ he thought to himself,  _ that was way too close.  _

He clutched the vine by one hand, relieved, gently swinging from side to side. His triceps were fire as he hauled himself up, then continued his journey. Using his right-hand mid-flight, he quickly tapped his earpiece to change lines from Mr S to Support. 

“RJ,” he said firmly, “Come in. I need you. RJ?” 

Chenle heard a few things clatter to the floor before RJ picked up his headset, and his heavy breath in the microphone made Chenle wince. 

“Hi, sorry, Chenle, I mean, Agent Zhong,” RJ coughed, sounding exhausted. In a more serious tone, he asked, “Is everything okay?” 

“You shouldn’t abandon your post during a mission,” Chenle grumbled.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. Now, is there anything I can help you with?” RJ sighed. 

“Yes, please. Can you locate somewhere where I can swing off this river? It’s been half an hour, I think my arms are about to fall off.”

RJ chuckled, drowning out the sound of his fingers flying over his keys. A few clicks later, he said, “Your signal isn't that strong so I can’t locate your exact location, but from your last update, there’s a historical nature walk near you that was abandoned about five years ago. Something about deadly snakes. I don’t have any visuals of it, but it sounded like it was cleared well. The walk leads to a lookout on the left bank, 100 metres from where you were five minutes ago. Actually, if I’m doing the math right, you should be right above it now.”

“Well, let’s hope you’re right.” 

Chenle twisted himself so he faced what he thought was the side of the river, swung back, then dropped down, down, down, yellow gas flying beside him. He bent his knees and braced for impact, which came a few seconds later, and he rolled onto flat ground. The fog was thinner, and Chenle could barely make out the dilapidated metal fence surrounding the lookout. 

Without a second thought, he turned on his heel and ran into the jungle. With every step, his legs screamed at him to stop, and he could barely bring his arms up to his sides. The pain was not his main concern. The path had disappeared underneath a mess of tree roots, fallen logs and bushes and Chenle was lost. He passed the same trees over and over before he finally gave up and collapsed onto a rock. 

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the cool eroded surface, tears pricking his eyes. 

“Fuck,” he whispered, “Fuck!” His earbud blasted static and he ripped it out of his ear and shoved it into his pocket. 

All the early mornings, the relentless training, the hours of studying felt pointless. How naive he had been to think that he would succeed. Chenle’s first solo mission,  _ his dream mission _ , was going to fail. He was so confident as well. 

“Just think, Chenle against a terrorist camp, in the heart of the Congolese Rainforest! Danger! Excitement!” he had announced to Jeno excitedly an hour after he had received news about his mission. Jeno had not looked up from where he was modifying Chenle’s gun to operate in humidity but hummed in agreement. 

Jeno was going to be so disappointed in him. They all were. Chenle curled into himself as a knot tightened around his throat as he thought about Mr S.

Mr S had so much faith in Chenle to succeed, but Chenle did not deserve this solo mission. He was too young, too inexperienced. Mr S should have given this mission to Jaemin or Donghyuk. His thoughts hazed together as the humidity started to constrict his chest.

Suddenly, voices. 

Two men shouted at each other in a foreign language and the sound echoed between the trees. Chenle froze, quickly rolled off the rock and pressed himself against the ground. The voices seemed to move away, to Chenle’s left, so he rolled to his right to the nearest tree. He scrambled up the tree then leapt, like a monkey, from tree to tree, adrenaline taking care of his burning quadriceps. 

The voices became louder, and Chenle looked down from his position. Their faces were concealed by black masks, and they were dressed in camouflage from head to toe, but Chenle recognised them immediately. Rifles were nestled like babies in their arms and Chenle activated the hardening on his suit. 

Chenle tailed them to a grass clearing, where there were a few small tents set up. There were a few groups of men, women and children scattered across the camp and a black flag had been tied to a tree. His breath caught in his throat. He found it. Now he needed to eliminate them one by one before he could reach their leader. He had done it before with Agent Dong while he was still in training. 

He took a deep breath then sat back on his heels, ready to spring to another, more advantageous position when he heard something behind him hiss. One hand keeping balance on the branch, he turned to see the largest snake he had ever seen in his life, even larger than Agent Nakamoto. 4 metres long, brown scales glimmering despite the shade of the tree, eyes piercing through Chenle. It raised its head and spread its cobra-like neck-flap and Chenle gulped. The Black Mamba, the world’s deadliest snake, was a metre away from Chenle. 

“Shit,” Chenle whispered, slowly crawling up the branch as the Mamba slithered closer. Black Mambas never were the first to attack, normally using their speed to escape threats, but this one looked rabid, eyeing Chenle with the hunger of a madman. 

Chenle dug around his pocket and pulled his earpiece out. “RJ! You said something about deadly snakes?”

“Yeah. Five years- the snake- spiked in- Congolese, so- wasn’t safe to walk on the- Why?” RJ’s voice cut in and out. 

“I’ll get back to you on that,” Chenle said, breathless, then closed the call. The snake was ready to attack, its head and front raised off the branch. If it decided to strike Chenle, he would be dead in no less than twenty minutes. 

He looked around rapidly, assessing his escape routes, but all the branches around him looked brittle and dead. The mamba hissed and Chenle froze, his hand slipping off the branch. He tumbled out of the tree and landed flat on the ground. 

Someone yelled in the distance. Chenle sprang off the ground to see two guns pointed to his head. He grimaced. 

“Oh, shit.” 

The air in the jet was stale and sent shivers up Chenle’s arms, despite his steamy shower only moments before. His seat swallowed him; Chenle curled his legs into his chest and rested his head on his knees. Tears dripped down his cheeks as he cried silently, hoping the pilot did not hear him. 

Everything hurt. From his foot, to his shoulder, to his head— luckily nothing was broken, but it was close, with a hairline fracture on his wrist. His heart, the thing that hurt the most, sat heavy in his chest, like a rock. In his mind, everything kept replaying like the bloopers reel of a movie. 

He had eliminated two, secured them, then began to take the rest. After he had disposed of twenty more men, he ran to the clearing, just to see a helicopter rising off the ground. Before he had the chance to jump on, a flurry of bullets pierced the dirt around him, and he had to run to take cover. He had fumbled around for his gun, but by the time he had pulled it out, the helicopter had disappeared. Just like water between fingers, they had slipped through. 

The camp had been no use. Chenle had found water and a few supplies, no documents, plans, nothing. He could already feel Mr S’s cold gaze on him, asking “How can I trust you, after this?”, saying “I knew it. I knew you weren’t good enough.” Chenle wanted to scream back, “I’m not a kid! Please give me a second chance!”

The table in front of Chenle lit up and a holographic projection of RJ peered at him. 

“Hey, how did it go,” RJ whispered softly, already knowing the answer. 

“I completely blew it, RJ. I’m a failure.” Chenle wiped away his tears with the back of his sleeve. 

“We’re not on the job, Chenle, you don’t have to call me that anymore. Also, no, you’re not a failure. You’re going to make a lot of mistakes in your life, this isn’t any different.” 

Chenle lifted his head. “But it is! This was our first tip-off in months and I completely… lost it. It’s going to take a while to relocate them, and who knows what they could do in that time. This isn’t just a mistake, Renjun. It’s hundreds of people’s lives. People might die because of me.” He bit his lip. “I just… I thought I was ready. I worked so hard and-” 

“Hey. If people die, so what?” Renjun cleared his throat. “Wow, that was not how I wanted to put it.” Chenle sniffled, chuckling. “What I was  _ supposed  _ to say is that if people do die, that’s not on you. You were chosen for this mission, sure, and you did your best! If people die, it’s not your fault— it’s the terrorists’!” 

“I guess.” 

“Right? I’m a genius. I know what you’re thinking right now. You’re probably thinking that you won’t ever get assigned a mission ever again, but I assure you, you’ll be fine. Why? Because now you have mistakes to learn from. You  _ know _ you kinda suck.” 

“Wow, thanks, Renjun.” 

“No worries, and— hey, Jeno!” Half of Jeno’s body appeared on the holograph as he tried to worm his way into the projector. Chenle laughed at Jeno making finger hearts while Renjun tried to push him out of the holograph. 

“GO AWAY!” Renjun kicked Jeno out of the holograph then sighed. “Sorry about that. Anyway, you captured  _ some _ of the guys, right? That’s something!” 

“Yeah, I guess it is.” 

“There you go! Get some sleep on the plane, you deserve it. Don’t worry too much about Mr S, he’s always had a soft spot for you.” 

“He does?” 

Renjun rolled his eyes. “Treats you like his own damn son sometimes. Anyway, go to bed. I’ll see you at the base, Agent Zhong.” The holograph disappeared with a click. 

“Thank you, RJ. Thank you for everything,” Chenle whispered to himself, before he collapsed against the seat, pulled a blanket over his legs and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

Jaemin’s mouth fell open, his eyebrows furrowing. He dropped the dumbbell in his hand on the floor and jogged over to Chenle, caramel hair bouncing like a dog’s. Chenle took a swig from his drink bottle, then tossed it to the side with a sigh. 

Jaemin crossed his arms. “What are you doing here?” His white t-shirt clung to his sweaty chest, and Chenle grabbed a towel from his bag and tossed it to him. Jaemin let the towel fall to the ground, still scowling. “I don’t want your damn towel, Chenle,” he snapped. 

“What does it look like,” Chenle muttered. He slipped his duffel off his shoulder and threw it to the floor, then started to walk past Jaemin to the treadmills. Jaemin stopped him with a hand. 

“No, not today. It’s only been _five_ days, Chenle and besides, you’re still injured!” He pointed at Chenle’s cast around his wrist. “No. I’m not allowing this. Go to bed. It’s too early in the morning for you to be here. Bye-bye.” 

“Jaemin, come on,” Chenle complained as Jaemin spun him around and pushed him out of the gym. “Please, I really need to go for a run. I have a meeting with Mr S and I think I might shit myself in the next few hours if I don’t distract myself.”

“Then shit yourself,” Jaemin said firmly, “better out than in, right?” 

Chenle scrunched his nose. “That’s disgusting.” 

Before Jaemin could reply, the door to the gym swung open and two men, towels slung around their necks, walked in, chatting loudly. Jaemin and Chenle snapped to attention, feet together and backs straight and bowed deeply. 

“Good morning!” they exclaimed and the men roared laughter. 

One of them patted Chenle on the back saying, “No need for that, come on now.” 

Jaemin and Chenle straightened and met eyes with Agents Leechaiyapornkul and Jung, who grinned back at them. They were both dressed in workout clothes, Ten’s ears, neck and fingers looking bare without his usual bling. 

“Jaemin, Chenle, it’s nice to see you again,” Ten said, looking between the two of them. “You’ve gotten so big… it’s hard to believe you two are field agents now.” 

Ten was a trainer as well as an agent, who specialised in martial arts and gymnastics and was famous for being able to slip away from the worst situations. In his second year of training, Chenle had taken his class in ancient weaponry for fun and had accidentally fallen asleep one lesson. Ten had punched him in the back with bagh nakh (tiger claw knuckles) and Chenle’s lumbar has not felt the same since.

Jaehyun shuffled over to stand next to Jaemin, then rubbed his hands together and chuckled to himself as he saw the gap in their heights. 

“Thank God,” he sighed, relieved, “I’m still taller.” He slapped Jaemin on the back. “It’s close, though. What have they been putting in your food?” 

While Ten relied on his body to fight, Jaehyun was a sharpshooter, able to use any sort of weapon and never, ever missed. Chenle remembered a time when he had walked into the gun range to practice his accuracy, saw Jaehyun shoot twenty bullets through the same hole, and had promptly walked back out. 

Jaemin winked at Jaehyun. “Watch out, old man, soon I’ll be taking your place at the table.” 

They all laughed, except for Jaehyun and Chenle. Jaehyun slapped his chest in hurt, then trapped Jaemin under a headlock, making him yell ‘ow, ow, ow!’ Chenle could not bring himself to smile. Ten noticed this and turned to him. 

“Chenle, I heard about your mission.” Chenle grimaced and looked down at his feet. “Oh, don’t do that. It’s not a problem, you know that.” 

“People keep saying that,” Chenle mumbled, feeling the intense stare of Ten’s eyes on his forehead. He glanced at the Commander and the hair at the back of his neck stood on end. “Agent, I’m sorry.” 

Ten shook his head. “Don’t say that. You have nothing to be sorry for. After all, you’re just a kid.” Chenle swallowed, throat dry. 

“I heard,” Ten continued, “That you have a meeting with John at 2. Don’t be scared or sorry, because that’s what he hates. Promise me you’ll be strong, okay?” 

Chenle nodded grimly. 

Jaemin glanced at Chenle then broke the tension with, “Commanders, do you have a mission today? You look a bit tired.” 

Jaehyun grunted and stretched his neck. “Yep, we're going to protect some of the King's family while he visits. They’re important, apparently, important enough for them to need us, so I guess it’s not gonna be a breeze. The grind never stops, huh?” 

Ten wrinkled his nose at Jaehyun’s words, but added, “That it doesn’t.” He checked his watch. “And not for you, either. Jaemin I know you have a meeting with Taeil and Jeno about your broken eyepiece. Taeil was telling me about it. Go, get changed, you smell.” 

As Jaemin left with a huff, Ten said, “Good luck to you, Chenle. Don’t be afraid, he’s not going to hurt you. John isn’t as bad as you think he is.” Jaehyun gave him a thumbs up. 

Chenle sighed and picked up his bag. Just because Ten could do something, did not mean he could. He learnt this the hard way when he was fourteen when Ten had urged him to attempt a nose dive in his first skydiving class. When Chenle had refused, Ten had simply shrugged, announced, “Look! It’s so easy!”, then jumped out of the plane, leaving ten teenagers alone and terrified.

While Ten could waltz into Mr S’ office, call him ‘John’ and scold him for eating too much, Chenle could not. He could not even fathom calling Mr S ‘John’. But Ten glared at him with the ferocity of a lion, and he had no choice but to sigh, “Yes, sir.” 

The black corridors that lead to Mr S’ office grew colder with each step that Chenle took. There were barely any people around; a few agents passed him, nodding, then scurried off. He turned the corner, and wooden double doors greeted him. 

Taeyong looked up from his computer and grinned from to ear-to-ear as Chenle approached, his eyes lighting up like fireworks. His desk was a tsunami of papers and folders, sticky notes scattered everywhere. Photos of people close to him stuck to the walls with blue tape. 

Taeyong’s silvery windswept hair fell into his eyes as he jogged around his desk to envelop Chenle in a bone-crushing hug. His eyes had dark bags underneath them, and Chenle empathised with him. Being Mr S’s assistant was a perilous task, but he was glad Taeyong seemed to retain his previous vigour. 

“Hi, Taeyong,” Chenle mumbled. He tried to push Taeyong away, but Taeyong’s death grip around Chenle’s shoulders forced him to submit to the familiar warmth. 

“Chenle,” Taeyong whispered into Chenle’s shoulder, “I was really worried, you know. I kept thinking to myself, what if I never see him again? What if something goes wrong, or he gets lost, or he gets shot?” He sighed, then added quietly, “I don’t want you to end up like me. All of you, going out on missions… I get so scared.” 

Chenle pulled Taeyong a little closer. “It’s okay, TY, I’m fine. Although, I  _ did _ get lost and basically  _ everything  _ went wrong, so.” 

Taeyong glared at him. “That’s not funny.” He finally released Chenle, letting him breathe again, and walked back to his desk. “I was worried sick.” 

“Sorry.” 

Sighing again, Taeyong massaged his temples as he swung around in his desk chair. From his shirt pocket, he pulled out a piece of folded paper. “Hyuk wanted me to give this to you. He’s out on a mission right now so he can’t see you.” After he tossed the paper to Chenle’s hands, the light outside the mahogany doors flashed green. 

“Ah,” Taeyong said, “That’s you.” He reached over his desk and squeezed Chenle’s hand, wincing slightly. Chenle moved forward to accommodate him. “Good luck.” 

“Yeah,” Chenle breathed, then adjusted his shirt and pants. With one last longing look at the outside world, Donghyuk’s paper crumpled in his hand, he pushed open the door and stepped inside the office. 

The office was covered in golden light that streamed in through the window, and Chenle had to squint. Mr S stood at one of the bookshelves that lined the walls, flipping through a leather book, and looked up. A black suit, and grey tie, hair slicked back. He towered over Chenle, heart-shaped lips pursing as he studied the boy. 

Chenle felt like prey as Mr S looked him up and down. Was his shirt not tucked in? Was his tie too skinny? 

“Chenle,” Mr S said, voice deep and low, “take a seat.” 

Swallowing, Chenle walked over to Mr S’ desk and took the seat opposite. He looked back at Mr S who was still thumbing through the book. 

“Sir-” he began, but Mr S cut him off. 

“Have you ever heard the story of my first mission, Chenle?” 

Chenle shook his head. 

“Well,” Mr S said, sighing while walking to sit at his desk, “It was a disaster. I was seventeen, like you, and eager. Leeteuk, the head at the time, walked me into his office and said: Johnny, you are ready for this. I didn’t believe him at the time, and this cost me the mission. I was a mere child.” 

He closed the book and placed it on the table. 

“Eight people died because of me. I was crushed. I nearly quit, but Leeteuk gave me another mission. I didn’t know why, but I did it anyway. I failed again. Twenty people were injured, two went missing. At this point, I was definitely going to quit, but Leeteuk gave me one more mission. 

This time he said to me: I believe you could be the best one day, and I need you to believe that. I saved thirty people after that, and it was the best feeling of my life. 

That is exactly what I am going to say to you. I believe you will go far, Chenle, but you cannot let a failed mission get to you. You and I, we are similar but different at the same time. Remind me, how long have you trained?” 

“Two years, sir.” 

“I see. I trained for ten long years before I was able to go on my first mission. I had been in here much longer than you had, trained longer, experienced more, and yet, you managed to handle your mission very maturely. I was very impressed.”

“Thank you, sir.” 

“There will be another opportunity to prove yourself, but you cannot be too eager. I’m sure you are familiar with Taeyong’s story?” 

Chenle looked down at his hands. “I am, sir.” 

“Taeyong was our best agent, Chenle, after I retired from active duty. He was good at everything, and everyone admired him. But he failed once, then kept trying and trying, and it was only a short time before he turned himself into what he is today.” 

Chenle snapped his head up. “It’s not Taeyong’s fault he can’t do anything anymore,” he muttered, then clamped his mouth together. 

Mr S smirked. “While that is true, many people tried to warn him, help him. I did, as well. He did not listen, and it is my greatest wish that you do. You have a good heart and are highly skilled, Chenle. I do not want to lose such a talented agent. As you have surely heard:  _ The World Needs You. _ ” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Mr S’ phone started to ring, and Chenle’s heart leapt into his throat. Mr S picked up the phone and raised it to his ear, muttering ‘sorry about this.’ His eyebrows furrowed and his mouth turned downwards as there was a flurry of noise on the other side. 

“Okay,” Mr S hissed into the phone, “Okay, Ten. I’ll deal with it. You and Jaehyun go. Stay safe, please.” 

Mr S turned to Chenle, eyes clouded with worry, and said, “I fear that your chance may come sooner than I thought.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is awful. i'm so sorry.
> 
> also can we talk about how hard it is to write summaries?? I literally spent five minutes thinking of the right one... and it's not even good...
> 
> thanks for reading!


End file.
